HP snubs Windows, plans to integrate webOS into PCs

Today, HP has shown that it plans to stand behind Palm’s WebOS in a monumental way. After announcing three new WebOS products–the HP Veer, Palm Pre 3, and HP TouchPad tablet–and reaffirming its dedication to WebOS, HP dropped a bomb; the world’s largest computer manufacturer will be putting WebOS on its printers, laptops, and desktop PCs next year.

“I’m excited to announce our plans to bring the WebOS to the device that has the biggest reach of all: the personal computer,” said Todd Bradley, head of HP’s clients group. “Do the math on two PCs per second. You easily exceed 100 million devices with WebOS deployed annually. That’s the start of something pretty big.”

HP claims it has 1 billion computer customers worldwide and sells 2 PCs every second, which means more than 170,000 HP PCs are sold per day. The company claims it is about “delivering experiences” and will modify WebOS for the personal computer and begin shipping it, presumably, on all or a majority of its laptops.

HP made no mention of Windows or if the company will still sell Microsoft’s operating system, which is a vital resource for many businesses. Though many consumers could switch operating systems on a dime, most businesses cannot. It’s likely that HP will continue selling Windows in some fashion, for the time being.